On July 17th, we celebrated our one year Fayetteville anniversary, or as I like to call it, our Fayetteville-aversary. On July 16th, 2011, after being jerked around by the horrible moving company I hired for about a week, we finally left Albuquerque, spent that fateful night in the hell that is Amarillo, Texas, and rolled into Fayetteville in the afternoon of the 17th.
After collecting the keys to our new apartment, we unpacked the car, inflated the air mattress, and then headed out to find food and entertainment. The latter guided our choices, mostly because it was the weekend Harry Potter 7 Part Dos came out in theatres, and I was dying to see it. Had it been a normal weekend, I would have gone to a midnight show, or at the very least seen it on Friday night. So we trekked up to the mall area, had dinner at the Olive Garden, and saw Harry Potter.
Coincidentally enough, Harry Potter 7 came on cable the day we moved into our new place this year.
To commemorate our one year Fayettevilleaversary, we decided to do the only logical thing: have dinner at the Olive Garden. We are creating a tradition here....we will go to the Olive Garden on July 17th every year, and ONLY on July 17th. Neither Doug nor myself are fans of the Olive Garden (except....unlimited breadsticks....mmmmmmmm), not because it is horrible, but because there are other non-chain Italian places that are far better. Plus, if we're being honest here, I was soured against Olive Garden as "the competition" when I worked at Macaroni Grill for over five years.
So, Olive Garden 2012? Check. See you again next July, OG! (Well, technically we'll see it whenever we pass you on our way to Target, but no need to get into semantic arguments with myself on my own blog).
Monday, July 23, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Crepes and Armadillos
Like many college towns, Fayetteville has a decent turnover of shops and restaurants. The good news for us is that we get to try out new places every once in awhile. Last weekend we decided to visit the new coffee shop/crepe restaurant a half mile from our place.
We hopped on the trail and walked north toward Dickson street, the "entertainment" area of town. I've mentioned the trail before, right? The trail system that goes throughout Fayetteville, used regularly by the locals for biking, walking, and running? Yes, that one. Well, we were casually walking up the trail and heard a rustling in the bushes on the side of the trail. When we looked closer, here's what we saw:
It's an armadillo.....an ALIVE armadillo! Since moving to Albuquerque, I've seen my fair share of dead armadillos on the side of the highway in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and a few in Arkansas, but I've never seen an alive one so close to me. It was super cute.
Then we went to the crepe-coffee joint, Arsagas. It's a local chain started about 20 years ago with several locations about town. Supposedly they roast their own coffee, which I don't even know if I've tried, because we were there for the crepes. This new branch has a charming, cozy vibe inside, and the back deck is HUGE, facing the trail (picture taken from the trail):
That's only half of the deck. It's shady, and pretty, and the crepes were delicious. While there we ran into a colleage of mine who was on the phone getting all excited about a "moderated mediation," to which I loudly dubbed him a nerd. Although it is nerdy to be proudly exclaiming statistical findings at a restaurant, I can hardly say I blame him--I'd do the same!
Armadillos and crepes, ya'll. Just two of the fine things Arkansas has to offer.
We hopped on the trail and walked north toward Dickson street, the "entertainment" area of town. I've mentioned the trail before, right? The trail system that goes throughout Fayetteville, used regularly by the locals for biking, walking, and running? Yes, that one. Well, we were casually walking up the trail and heard a rustling in the bushes on the side of the trail. When we looked closer, here's what we saw:
It's an armadillo.....an ALIVE armadillo! Since moving to Albuquerque, I've seen my fair share of dead armadillos on the side of the highway in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and a few in Arkansas, but I've never seen an alive one so close to me. It was super cute.
Then we went to the crepe-coffee joint, Arsagas. It's a local chain started about 20 years ago with several locations about town. Supposedly they roast their own coffee, which I don't even know if I've tried, because we were there for the crepes. This new branch has a charming, cozy vibe inside, and the back deck is HUGE, facing the trail (picture taken from the trail):
That's only half of the deck. It's shady, and pretty, and the crepes were delicious. While there we ran into a colleage of mine who was on the phone getting all excited about a "moderated mediation," to which I loudly dubbed him a nerd. Although it is nerdy to be proudly exclaiming statistical findings at a restaurant, I can hardly say I blame him--I'd do the same!
Armadillos and crepes, ya'll. Just two of the fine things Arkansas has to offer.
Friday, July 13, 2012
The Drive-in
Oh blog-o-sphere, how we have neglected you. The problem isn't that there is nothing to say, nor is the problem finding the time to post. The problem right now is that we are so behind with posting, verging on two months now, that I feel an enormous pressure to write ALL of the things that have happened to us in Arkansas. Essentially, to "catch up."
But I think I am going to take a page from a delightful friend of mine who has her own blog that she posts on only one day per week(if you're at all interested in reading a very thoughtful commentary on one couple's struggles and triumphs with fertility and pregnancy, check it out: http://www.storksandcabbages.com/). I thought to myself...I can handle posting one day per week. So that is the new plan, to post one day per week. If I want to write more, or if Doug does, great, but once a week is enough.
I will try to be patient about describing all that has happened to us in the last few months; we drove to Albuquerque, got married, went on a honeymoon, drove back to Arkansas, moved, said many goodbyes to a friend who is now abroad, and are now settling into our early-married-persons routine. Those things can be described in time.
Today I thought I'd talk about a great American summer past time that we have been getting involved with this summer: Going to the drive-in. Apparently the first drive-in was patented in the early 1930s and reached the height of popularity in the late 1950s or early 1960s. I can tell you firsthand that the Fayetteville drive-in was basically frozen in time in 1964, and the people who work there have continued to age but are otherwise exactly the same. Seriously, click on the link and go to the "photos" tab--it's amazing.
The drive-in appears to be a popular Fayetteville activity on the weekends in the summer time. The "feature" starts around 9pm, and is often something current and popular (we saw The Avengers, Doug saw Men in Black III, tonight is Spiderman). The second film starts half an hour after the first ends, and is something less desirable (Dark Shadows, Madagascar sequel 18, What to Expect when you're Expecting). In between they show commercials that are at least 20 years old, and I actually find the commercials to be more interesting than the second movie.
It's a really chill and fun evening: bring a couple of camping chairs, blast the volume through the open window of your car stereo, try to "save" a spot for your friends to park next to you, and stock up on the snacks (we like "swalty," a popcorn that is both sweet and salty, and tantalizingly addictive). Then sit down, watch the show, and make snarky comments to your friends, which is acceptable because the closest car is at least 10 feet away. All in all, a great way to spend a summer evening, and a fun way to see those summer blockbuster movies which we don't really care that much about.
Though poor Doug, who's blood is like crack for mosquitoes, tends to get bitten up in the ridiculously humid Arkansas air. I suppose even great things have their costs. Or, to quote the barely-a-decade old Spiderman, in anticipation of tonight's viewing of the "reboot," with great power comes great responsibility.
But I think I am going to take a page from a delightful friend of mine who has her own blog that she posts on only one day per week(if you're at all interested in reading a very thoughtful commentary on one couple's struggles and triumphs with fertility and pregnancy, check it out: http://www.storksandcabbages.com/). I thought to myself...I can handle posting one day per week. So that is the new plan, to post one day per week. If I want to write more, or if Doug does, great, but once a week is enough.
I will try to be patient about describing all that has happened to us in the last few months; we drove to Albuquerque, got married, went on a honeymoon, drove back to Arkansas, moved, said many goodbyes to a friend who is now abroad, and are now settling into our early-married-persons routine. Those things can be described in time.
Today I thought I'd talk about a great American summer past time that we have been getting involved with this summer: Going to the drive-in. Apparently the first drive-in was patented in the early 1930s and reached the height of popularity in the late 1950s or early 1960s. I can tell you firsthand that the Fayetteville drive-in was basically frozen in time in 1964, and the people who work there have continued to age but are otherwise exactly the same. Seriously, click on the link and go to the "photos" tab--it's amazing.
The drive-in appears to be a popular Fayetteville activity on the weekends in the summer time. The "feature" starts around 9pm, and is often something current and popular (we saw The Avengers, Doug saw Men in Black III, tonight is Spiderman). The second film starts half an hour after the first ends, and is something less desirable (Dark Shadows, Madagascar sequel 18, What to Expect when you're Expecting). In between they show commercials that are at least 20 years old, and I actually find the commercials to be more interesting than the second movie.
It's a really chill and fun evening: bring a couple of camping chairs, blast the volume through the open window of your car stereo, try to "save" a spot for your friends to park next to you, and stock up on the snacks (we like "swalty," a popcorn that is both sweet and salty, and tantalizingly addictive). Then sit down, watch the show, and make snarky comments to your friends, which is acceptable because the closest car is at least 10 feet away. All in all, a great way to spend a summer evening, and a fun way to see those summer blockbuster movies which we don't really care that much about.
Though poor Doug, who's blood is like crack for mosquitoes, tends to get bitten up in the ridiculously humid Arkansas air. I suppose even great things have their costs. Or, to quote the barely-a-decade old Spiderman, in anticipation of tonight's viewing of the "reboot," with great power comes great responsibility.
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